Device for molding butter preparatively to cutting it into individual proportions.



PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907.

L. M. MEDBURY.

DEVICE FOR MOLDING BUTTER PRBPARATIVELY TO CUTTING IT INTO INDIVIDUALPORTIONS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.9,1905.

Fig: 1

W/T/VEEEES:

d uvlb UNITED STATES 1215mm OFFICE."

' LORA M. MEDBURY, or ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR MOLDING BUTTER PREPABATIVELY TO CUTTING IT INTO IN'DIVTDUALPORTIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patente d A.ug, 20,1907.

Application filed October 9,1905. Serial No. 282,051.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lona M. MEDBURY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Alameda, in the county of Alameda and State ofCalifornia, have 5 invented a new and useful Device for Molding ButterPreparatively to Cutting It into Individual Portions, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention is an improvement in devices for forming butter intocakesor balls of suitable size and shape for use upon the table.

The usual means employed at present by housewives and' others for thispurpose, is a pair of wooden paddles. When these are used, the buttermust be cut into small pieces, taken between the paddles, and workedbetween them into the desired shape, but except when performed by onelong experienced in the use of the'paddles, the operation is not easynor very likely to be successful, since the butter sticks to them unlessthey are kept properly moist, the balls formed are seldom of uniformsize or shape, and more or less of the butter is bound to be wastedthrough sticking to the paddles, and through dropping from between Ithem during the process of rolling, and fallingupon the floor or otherplace where it comes in contact with dirt and is rendered unfit for use.Then, too, the paddles are liable to wear rough, to crack, or otherwisebei come unfit for the purpose they are made to serve.

, When they are employed, the butter must be thorbyoughly iced andrendered firm before the operation of rolling can take place,necessitating the storing of the whole square of butter from which theballs are to be made, near the ice, and taking up space which might besorely needed for something else. It is thought that these difiicultieswill be obviated by the use of the device herein described, since thebutter may be pressed into it before being iced, without any wastewhatever, and the mold containing the butter laid away in the ice-chestuntil ready for use, when the cakes of butter can be cut off as needed,the rest being left in the mold, and stored away in the ice-chest.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of'the completedevice, partly broken away to show the manner in which the butter isejected from the mold. 2 is a perspective View of the mold which thebutter is'packed in the mold. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a plungerused to push the butter from the mold. Fig. 4 is an end view of themold.

and a square of butter, and illustrates the mariner inable therefrom.The tube or cylinder 1 may be made of any desired metal, tin, on accountofits lightness and cheapness, being deemed most suitable for thepurpose. It is corrugated to give shape to the cake of 1 butter which itis designed to mold, and also to allow of a greater cooling surface whenit is placed in contact with a cooling agent. It may be made in anydesired shape and of any desired size, but a tube or cylinder about oneand a half or two inches in diameter by about six or eight inches inlength is thought to be best adapted to the uses of an ordinaryhousehold. The shape of the cylinder or tube may be varied almostindefinitely, to suit varying tastes and requirements,

fancy shapes such as those of the heart, cross, triangle 7 etc., beingsometimes desired for use at dinners and other gatherings.

The piston or plunger comprises a disk-shaped head 2, and a rod 3,provided on one end with a ring 4, and having at the other end acone-shaped enlargement 5, supporting the piston-head, which is of thesame width and shape as the inside of the cylinder or tube 1, andexactly fits into it. The length of the plunger from, the point wherethe ring joins the rod to the outer surface of the piston-head is'alittle more than that of the cylinder. The conical enlargement on oneend of the plunger-rod offers a suitable base upon which to fix thepiston-head, enabling it to Withstand the pressure exerted thereon whenthe butter is forced from the tube. Two buttons or indicators 6 and 7are provided, one upon the outer surface of the cylinder 1 near one end,and the other upon the conical portion 5 of the plunger, at a pointwhich corresponds withthat whereon the indicator on the cylinder isplaced when piston-head must be inserted in a particular position.

The device is very simple, and can be used by anyone without practiceand with excellent results, all

' that is required being to takethe cylinder, press it into the butter,and fill it up, place the filled cylinder in the ice-chest to cool, andwhen ready to serve, simply insert the plunger at one end, push outenough of the butter to make a cake oi the desired size, cut it off witha knife, and serve. may be kept fresh and ready for use without furthertrouble or inconvenience by simply placing the ,tube back in theice-chest. When the balls are rolled by paddles, a large quantity ofthem is usuallymade, since they must be rolled when the butter is hard,and ii any should be left over, they are fit for nothing but such wasteoccurs when this new device is employed,

What remains in the tube because the cakes of butter may be cut off asneeded 1 and what is not used may he left in the tube. Several of thesetubes might be kept on hand, thus affording n variety of shapes andsizes of cakes.

The device can be made cheaply and is believed to be in every waypractical.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent oi the United States is:

A butter mold comprising a fluted cylinder of uniform diameterthroughout and having an unobstructed interior. a knob shaped projectionsecured to the exterior and adjacent one end thereof, a plungerdisconnected from the cylinder and having a disk the periphery of whichis of ees,ee1

LORA M. MEDBURY. [L. 5.] Witnesses MAnGAnEr M. MEDBURY, A. H. STE.MARIE. V

